1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a connector and, more particularly, to a data processing medium connector for connecting a data processing medium, e.g., an IC card, a hard disk drive package, and the like to a data processing apparatus, e.g., a personal computer, peripheral equipment thereof, and the like, in order to execute data communication between the data processing medium and the data processing apparatus. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to a data processing medium locking mechanism which is used in the connector of the above-mentioned type to lock the data processing medium in the connector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the known connectors for connecting a card type data processing medium (typically a memory card) to a data processing apparatus (typically a personal computer) is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 2-90772 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,697). This connector has such a size that it can be mounted in, e.g., the expansion slot of a personal computer. This connector has a housing for housing a memory card, and a releasing mechanism for releasing connection of the connector and the memory card from each other.
The housing has open and closed ends opposing each other, and a housing space for housing the memory card is defined between the open and closed ends. This housing is generally formed as a frame member made of a plastic, and its upper portion is covered with a metal reinforcing plate for imparting a strength to the frame member. The open end of the housing is arranged at the open side of the expansion slot of the personal computer so that the memory card can be inserted and removed therethrough. A plurality of male contact terminals are arranged at the closed end of the housing. One end of each male contact terminal extends from the closed end to the outside of the housing and is connected to the circuit substrate in the personal computer. The other end of each male contact terminal is arranged to oppose the open end in the housing and is formed such that it can be connected to a corresponding female contact terminal of the memory card.
The releasing mechanism includes a slidable plate slidable on the reinforcing plate of the housing in the moving direction of the memory card, a pivotal lever for driving the slidable plate, and a push rod for manually operating the pivotal lever. The slidable plate has a pawl engageable with the memory card in the housing through a notch in the reinforcing plate of the housing. One end of the pivotal lever is coupled to the slidable plate on the reinforcing plate of the housing, and the central portion of the pivotal lever is axially mounted to the reinforcing plate of the housing. The other end of the pivotal lever is coupled to the push rod mounted on a side surface of the housing. The push rod is manually reciprocally movable in the moving direction of the memory card. Accordingly, when the reciprocal movement of the push rod is transmitted to the slidable plate through the pivotal lever, the slidable plate is reciprocally moved.
The pivotal lever is formed such that it converts the movement of the push rod in the opposite direction and transmits it to the slidable plate.
When the memory card is completely inserted from the open end toward the closed end of the housing and the female terminals of the memory card are connected to the male terminals of the connector, since the pawl of the slidable plate is engaged with the memory card, the slidable plate is also moved toward the closed end side of the housing. When this movement is transmitted to the push rod through the pivotal lever, the push rod is withdrawn from the open end side of the housing. On the contrary, when the push rod is pushed in toward the closed end of the housing, the slidable plate and the memory card are moved toward the open end side of the housing, and accordingly the female terminals of the memory card and the male terminals of the connector are disconnected from each other.
The computer industry continues to strive toward low profile data processing apparatus, e.g., personal computers, peripheral equipment, and the like. As a consequence, there is a need to reduce the profile of memory card connectors intended for use in such low profile computing apparatus. Furthermore, any such low-profile connector should be easy to operate and should have data security features in order to prevent damage to circuit elements, e.g., memory elements, and loss of data in the event of an unexpected accident, such as inadvertent ejection of a memory card from the connector.
Size design of the conventional connector described above will be discussed. First, from the viewpoint of the thickness of the connector, three metal plates, i.e., the reinforcing plate of the housing, the slidable plate of the releasing mechanism, and the pivotal lever, are located above the memory card, thus preventing the realization of a low profile connector. Second, from the viewpoint of the length of the connector (the moving direction of the memory card), the stroke length of the push rod projecting outward from the open end of the housing is too long, further hampering efforts to achieve a low-profile connector.
From the viewpoint of operation of the conventional connector described above, while data communication is performed between the memory card and the data processing apparatus, the push rod projects beyond the open end of the housing. In such an extended position, the push rod can be pushed in accidentally by an operator. Additionally, unexpected vibrations or shocks to the computing apparatus could cause a memory card to back out of and disconnect from the connector. When any of these accidents occur, the circuit elements in the memory card can be damaged, and data in the circuit elements can be lost.